Called In Sick
by laolurve
Summary: Another one for the 'one of our favorite pair gets sick and needs some TLC' pile. Just some fluff. :


**Author's Notes:**

Not epic, but, certainly longer than drabbles and longer than the other few stories I've posted. Baby steps, lol. Anyway, this is just some aimless kind of fluff. As everyone knows, it's getting to be flu season, so, why not add another 'one of our favorite pair get sick and need some TLC' story to the pile? Heh. No real plot here beyond that; just, as I said, some little fluff. :)

**Called In Sick**

"She doesn't seem like the kind of person to call in sick," Alex responded to Elliot's last statement regarding where Olivia was.

And Elliot had to agree, "No, she's never called in sick in our partnership."

Alex tried to keep her voice mostly steady and reasonable, but she was getting a little concerned. "That means she must be *really* sick," Alex pointed out.

Elliot again had to agree, but unlike Alex didn't seem all that worried. He considered Alex's statement but then shrugged a little, "Yeah, I suppose so."

"Don't you think you should go check on her?" Alex struggled a little more to keep the worry from her voice, not quite sure herself where that worry was coming from, not quite sure why she had this sudden need to look after Olivia's health, not quite sure about a lot of emotions that had all of a sudden started swirling around her brain at the notion of Olivia being truly ill.

Elliot shrugged again and spoke, bringing Alex out of her short reverie, "I asked her if she needed anything and she said 'no'."

"And you took her word for it?"

There was a pause and then Elliot said, half laughing, "You know how she gets."

Alex didn't really know her like Elliot knew her but, actually, yes, she knew exactly what Elliot was talking about. When Olivia made up her mind and voiced her mind, she didn't take kindly to being questioned. So, Alex no longer had rebuke in her voice when she asked, "This is going to sound strange but, do you have a key to her place? And if so, would it be okay if I borrowed it?"

Elliot's eyebrows flew into his hairline, "Why?"

Alex couldn't quite hold his eyes or quite hide her blush. She couldn't quite believe herself that she'd asked nor figure out what was compelling her so strongly to need to look in on the detective. But, much like the detective in question, when Alex Cabot made up her mind, she didn't waver from her chosen course and she didn't take kindly to being questioned. "Because my lunch hour is free and I thought I'd take her some soup. She lives not far from here, right?"

"Why do you need the key?"

"If she's asleep, I don't want to wake her."

Elliot just stared at her.

She finally met and held his gaze for a while and then exhaled, "I just want to take her some soup, Elliot. She'll probably end up throwing it at me, but I'll take that risk."

Elliot laughed and fished in his pocket. Unhooking the key from his ring he gave her Olivia's full address and then handed over the key, "And you better tell her you stole this key from me."

Alex returned his laugh, "I promise."

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The rest of the morning crawled by. Alex's thoughts a confused mix of concern and confusion over that concern. Why did she feel so compelled? Why did she feel so worried? Why did she care so much?

Finally, at quarter to noon, Alex had had enough waiting. She left her office, swung by the Duane Reade for some Puffs Plus tissues, some cough syrup, Tylenol, and decongestant, and Nyquil. Then she was off to Hale and Hearty to pick up a bowl of potato soup for herself and chicken noodle for Olivia. Because everyone knows chicken noodle is the cure for what ails you.

With her cold-and-flu fighting weapons in hand and still asking herself what the hell she was doing, she headed to Olivia's.

After knocking on the door and getting no answer, she let herself in using the key she'd 'stolen' from Elliot. Stepping inside the small but comfortable apartment, she closed the door and called out quietly for Olivia. Getting no answer she set her bags down and walked quietly down the hall. Pushing open one of the doors she saw Olivia in the bed, nose red, brow damp, tangled in her sheets, a pile of used tissue next to an empty tissue box on the bedside table.

Quietly approaching the bed, hoping not to disturb the sleeping detective, Alex lightly touched Olivia's forehead. It was burning up. But even at the slightest touch, Olivia jerked awake and tried to focus her foggy eyes and even foggier brain.

"Olivia! It's just me, it's just Alex, it's okay, Olivia, I'm sorry I awakened you."

Olivia's eyes cleared somewhat but it was obvious she was still very confused, probably from being sick and certainly from her fever, "Alex?" Her voice was scratchy and dry.

"Yes, it's Alex."

Olivia blinked heavy lids once before trying to sit up and look around. "Where... Where am I?" Her brain couldn't figure out where she might be that Alex was also there.

"You're in your own bedroom, Olivia, don't try to sit up." Alex lightly pushed on the brunette's shoulder to keep her lying. And realized just how sick and weak the detective was by the fact that she didn't fight back at all.

Olivia focused again on Alex's face, a look of confusion on her own, "What are you doing here?"

Alex sat on the edge of the bed, "Elliot said you had called in sick so I came by to check in on you. See if you were okay."

"I'm fine," came the automatic answer even thought it was obviously not true.

"Suuure you are," Alex patronized the detective soothingly, "That's why you're burning up. So, tell you what, I'm going to stick around for a while a just take care of you for a bit, okay."

"I don't need to be taken care of," came another automatic, knee-jerk answer from the fiercely independent woman.

"Normally, I'd agree, Olivia," Alex responded calmly, "But not right now. Because right now you have the flu and you definitely need some taking care of."

"I do not have the flu," Olivia continued to argue.

Alex shook her head and Elliot's words rang in her head, "You know how she can be." Alex took a deep breath "Okay," Alex was fine with patronizing Olivia, "You don't have the flu, you just have all of the symptoms of it."

Olivia was obstinate and a little juvenile, "Nah-uh."

"Yes, Olivia you do, and it's kicking your ass."

Olivia's response was slightly unexpected. She turned her fever-clouded eyes towards Alex, "You just said, 'ass'."

Alex sighed, "Yes, I did, sweetie, now will you please let me take care of you?"

Olivia's eyes cleared just marginally, "You just called me 'sweetie'."

Alex was hoping that little slip-up had gone unnoticed but since it hadn't she went with it, "Olivia, this conversation is going to take a long time if you insist on telling me everything that I just said to you."

Olivia got the cutest look on her face and kind of pouted, "Oh no, now I've made you mad."

Alex couldn't help but laugh at the lost little look and just how flippin' cute Olivia was when she was so out of it, "No, you didn't make me mad."

Olivia smiled at Alex's laugh, "Now I've made you happy. That's better," her voice began to fade. "I'm so glad I could take care of you. I have to get going," her eyes slid shut and she barely mumbled out the last word, "now," before slipping back asleep.

Alex smiled again briefly but the smiled faded when she let her hands run over Olivia's forehead and once again remembered how bad Olivia's fever is. She hoped the Tylenol would kick in soon but in the mean time, she went to the bathroom and wet a washcloth with cold water. Returning to the bedroom, she folded it and gently placed it on Olivia's forehead.

With a last look at Olivia's face, beautiful even in sickness, she slipped out of the bedroom and into the living room, quietly shutting the door behind her. She located her cell phone in her coat pocket and called into the office, telling them that she wouldn't be returning that afternoon but if anyone needed anything she could be reached on her phone.

For some reason not wanting to eat her soup without Olivia, she grabbed a banana from Olivia's counter, two files from her briefcase, and headed back into the bedroom. Sitting in the bed next to Olivia (which felt way too comfortable), she proceeded to read her file and keep a watchful eye on the woman next to her, getting up every 30 minutes or so to put a new washcloth on her forehead.

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After about an hour and a half, the fever seemed to be getting worse, with Olivia moving restlessly and sometimes moaning, and Olivia had sweated through the shirt she was wearing, was trying to kick off the blankets, while at the same time she was shivering.

Alex figured the best she could do was get Olivia out of her wet shirt and into something dry; that would at least help with the chill. So she set aside her files and got off the bed. She went to Olivia's dresser and started opening drawers, feeling a little like she was invading Olivia's privacy but needing to find an extra shirt. Finally she located a stack of t-shirts and pulled one off the top. Taking it over to Olivia's bed, she laid it down then gently shook Olivia's shoulder.

The brunette's bloodshot eyes cracked open. Alex smiled sympathetically at her, trying to reassure her. She knew just how crappy Olivia was feeling when all the detective said through clattering teeth was, "Cold."

"I know you are, sweetie. I'm going to help you put a new shirt on, okay? I need you to sit up."

Olivia tried to grab the blankets from around her legs to pull them up over her.

Alex gently stopped her and repeated, "Olivia, I need you to sit up first so we can change your shirt."

Olivia seemed to understand as she did sit up but then once again turned cloudy, red eyes towards the blonde, as if finally noticing her. "Alex?"

Alex hoped she wasn't going to have the exact same conversation as she'd had before so she just staved off any questions by just giving her next instructions, "Can you lift your arms above your head?" as she grabbed the hem of Olivia's shirt (and tried to ignore her increased heart rate over what she was about to do).

Olivia blinked slowly but did as she was told, raising her arms. When she did Alex lifted the damp shirt up and off Olivia's body. She was both relieved and disappointed when Olivia immediately lowered her arms to wrap them around her own body, shivering and repeating, "Cold."

Alex tossed the first shirt away and quickly retrieved the other one, "I know, this will help. I need you to help me put this on you."

Again, Olivia seemed to understand as she unwrapped her arms from around herself and helped Alex maneuver the shirt over the brunette's head, got her arms into the sleeves and down her body. Alex's heart only skipping two beats when her hands brushed the warmed skin of Olivia's chest and stomach, and berating herself for reacting that way when Olivia was in such an obviously vulnerable condition.

Finally, when she'd gotten Olivia's shirt on, she quickly turned Olivia's pillow over so her head would be resting on the somewhat dry side of the pillowcase, got Olivia to drink just a little bit if water, then laid Olivia back down, pulled the blankets up and tucked them under the chin of the still shivering detective. Fortunately, it wasn't long before said detective drifted once again into a fitful sleep.

Alex watched her sleep for several minutes, trying to decide whether to call a doctor or not. She didn't seem any warmer than she had been before so, deciding to wait it out a bit longer, she refreshed the washcloth on Olivia's forehead, and then settled back into bed next to her to continue reading her file.

It was about ninety minutes later that she noticed Olivia's body had seemingly calmed. Alex felt Olivia's forehead and neck and it felt mercifully cooler. The fever had broken, thank god.

Feeling it was okay to leave the bedroom and not wanting to disturb Olivia's much needed sleep, she put a fresh glass of water on the night stand, cleaned up all the old tissues and put a new opened box next to the water.

And with that, she headed out to the living room. Checking her messages, she returned two calls to the office and canceled her plans for the evening. She then turned on the TV and settled into the couch for a little quiet time.

It was an hour later that she heard Olivia blowing her nose and the toilet flush. Her heart raced a little bit, wondering how Olivia would reach when she came out here to find Alex, wondering how much Olivia would remember. But that little reunion would have to wait. For Olivia didn't come out to the living room and quiet returned to the apartment. Olivia must have gone back to bed.

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Another two hours crawled by, the sun having gone down, when Alex heard the bedroom door open. She put down what she had been reading, muted the television, and took her glasses off, turning around on the couch to face the woman emerging into the living room.

Olivia looked exhausted and pale; her hair all messed up and just a little damp from a lingering slight fever. When she saw Alex she frowned, "Alex? What are you doing here?"

Alex had wondered how much Olivia would remember from the last several hours and it was looking like not much. "Elliot told me you had called in sick so I came back to check on you."

"I'm fine."

Alex tried not to laugh, "How are you feeling?"

Olivia blinked, as if just considering how she felt. "I... I'm tired," she admitted. "But starving."

Alex nodded, "When was the last time you ate?"

Olivia looked around and then outside, clearly growing a little more confused, "What time is it?"

"It's about 8:00 at night. You've been sleeping and feverish all day."

"You've been here all day?"

Alex nodded, "Since noon." Trying to forestall further questions and return the attention to Olivia's well being, Alex offered, "I brought you some soup earlier but you were too out of it to have any. How about I warm it up for you now?"

"You brought me some soup?"

Alex again shook her head at the similarity of her conversation and then responded to Olivia with a smile, "Chicken noodle. How's that sound?" She moved towards the kitchen.

Olivia, still highly confused, but still Olivia tried to stop her. "I can do it."

"I'm sure you can, but let me. Come, sit down on the couch, there" Alex settled the brunette and pulled a blanket over her.

"You don't have to take care of me," Olivia's protest, however, was in her words only as she let Alex pull a blanket over her.

"I know I don't. But you still have the flu."

"No I don't."

Alex laughed, "For right now, please believe me when I say that we've had this argument before and I won that time and I'll win this time. Stay right there and I'll be right back, okay?"

Olivia regarded Alex silently for a minute trying to figure out what Alex was referring to since she obviously didn't remember much (if any) of the afternoon. She just nodded.

While Alex quickly heated up both Olivia's and her own soup, she went into the bedroom and got the box of tissues and brought it out to the living room along with the Tylenol and a glass of water. She handed the Tylenol to Olivia, "Take these."

Olivia just sensed from Alex's tone that she shouldn't argue. She took them.

Alex then returned to the kitchen. She had previously located where Olivia kept her bowls so she transferred the soup into bowls. She grabbed a napkin and Olivia's bowl and took it out to the living room, silently handing it over to Olivia. She returned one more time to the kitchen to retrieve her own soup then joined Olivia on the other end of the couch.

Olivia had to admit the soup tasted wonderful and was exactly what she wanted and needed. Alex, however, could feel Olivia's eyes darting to her occasionally as they ate. Finally Olivia asked tentatively, "What, um, what exactly happened this afternoon?"

Alex swallowed the soup that was in her mouth, "You had very bad fever, you were pretty delirious."

Olivia swallowed hard herself, "Did I...say anything...you know...stupid? Or embarrassing?"

Alex raised and eyebrow but responded only, "No, nothing like that."

Olivia nodded and looked away. Taking another couple of swallows of soup before she broached the next topic, "Um, I'm not wearing the same shirt I was when I went to bed last night."

Ah. "No, you're not. You had soaked through your other shirt and it was making you cold. So I helped you change it." Alex, cursed her fair skin as well as the faint blush she knew was now tainting that skin. Why why why did she have to blush? It was totally innocent what she'd done, wasn't it?

Olivia noticed the blush and was intrigued by it but didn't mention it responding only, "I see."

They both fell silent again, finishing their soup. When they were done, Alex took the bowls to the kitchen and returned to the living room. Olivia was just sort of staring blankly into space.

"You look tired."

Olivia seemed almost startled by her presence, "I am. And I'm not. I can't seem to move from this couch but I also don't think I can sleep any more."

"Well, maybe we should watch some TV."

Olivia looked at Alex a little surprised, finally venturing her next statement, "Alex, you... you don't have to stay. I'm sure you have other things that you were going to do today and this evening."

Alex, learning that honesty was usually the best way to convince someone that you're, well, being honest replied, "Yeah, I did. But right now, the place I need to be is here taking care of you."

"I can take care of myself."

Alex got an odd expression on her face.

Olivia quickly countered, "I'm sorry, that came out harsher than I meant it to. I just mean, you really don't need to be here."

Alex smiled, "I know. But I want to be here. You had me worried this afternoon." Olivia didn't quite know what to make of that. Alex added, "You just seemed really sick. And considering you don't remember it, you really were very sick."

Olivia just nodded then asked again, an apprehensive expression on her face, "Are you sure I didn't say or, or do anything stupid or embarrassing?"

"You mean like come on to me?" Alex couldn't BELIEVE she had just said that!

"Oh my god, I came on to you? I'm so sorry Alex, I...I..."

Alex laughed, "No, you didn't come on to me. As I told you, you didn't say anything bad at all."

Olivia gave Alex a dirty look, "That wasn't very nice, you know. And that after I kindly didn't mention the fact that you blushed when you talked about changing my shirt for me."

Alex smile faded and she couldn't stop the blush from coloring her cheeks and ears again. Damn!

Olivia smirked. Score one for her.

Alex cleared her throat, conceding the point, both of them having revealed perhaps more than they had intended to yet strangely not more than they were comfortable with. Nevertheless, Alex got the conversation back on topic, "It's Thursday night," she checked her watch, "At 9:00. What do you feel like watching?

Olivia looked blankly at the blonde, "I haven't a clue what's on at 9:00 on Thursday."

"Me neither. I guess we'll find out."

Alex turned on the TV and they settled into the couch. After flipping through a few channels they settled on some random drama that had little to do with reality and which required little thinking, which was just to their liking. During commercials Alex tried to fuss over Olivia, asking if she was warm enough, cool enough, needed anything more to eat, finally at 9:45 insisting on making her some hot cocoa, which Olivia amusedly but gratefully accepted.

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As one TV show morphed into another, they just kept sitting there. For despite Olivia's sickness, despite Alex needing to go to work in the morning, despite the fact that they weren't really doing anything but sitting there together quietly watching TV, both were strangely reluctant to end the evening.

But, as the second hour of television morphed into the 11 o'clock news and Olivia's yawning came more frequently, Alex knew it was time to send Olivia back to bed and knew it was time for her to head home.

She looked over at Olivia, whose head was back and eyes were closed, which only confirmed her conclusion. She got up and took Olivia's empty cocoa mug to the kitchen. She then ducked into Olivia's bedroom, quickly checking to make sure the sheets were relatively dry and changing the pillowcase. Returning to the living room with a dose of Nyquil in hand as well as a glass of water.

She turned the television off, the sound of which awakened Olivia. Alex smiled down at her. "It's time for you to get back to bed."

"I'm not tired," came Olivia's groggy reply.

"Sure you're not," Alex smiled as she handed Olivia the Nyquil, "Take this."

"My, my, you help me change my shirt and now you think you're the boss of me."

Alex's response was just to give Olivia an un-amused look and continue to hold out the Nyquil.

"Fine," Olivia grumbled but too the cold medicine, making a face at the taste. Which is when Alex handed her the water glass to rinse it down with.

Alex took the glass to the kitchen while Olivia dragged herself up from the couch. They met at the kitchen entrance. Olivia looked unsure, not quite knowing whether she was expected to offer for Alex to stay or what. "Um, I... you..."

Alex saved her, "I need to head home. I have court in the morning and I need to get some sleep. Will you be alright tonight?"

Olivia, feeling strangely both relieved and disappointed, nodded.

"Promise me. *promise me*, that you'll call me if you need anything."

Olivia again strangely, didn't even feel like rolling her eyes. She just nodded again.

"Alright, I would tell you not to go to work tomorrow but I know it won't do any good so, I'll talk to you tomorrow at work, probably."

Olivia laughed at Alex's all too accurate statement and showed Alex to the door. As she opened the door she said, at a loss to say anything else, "Thank you, Alex. You didn't have to come by this afternoon and you didn't have to take care of me but I... regardless of what I might have said at any point, I appreciate it. Really."

Alex placed a hand on Olivia's cheek and smiled; the gesture intimate and revealing. But now was not the time. She swallowed, smiled, and said simply, "Well, when you feel up to it, you can take me out to dinner."

Olivia smiled, "Deal."

Alex started walking down the hallway. As she started to turn the corner she glanced back and her heart leapt way too much when she saw that Olivia's door was still open and Olivia had been watching her walk down the hall. The last words before she disappeared around the corner were the end of their previous exchange, "I like Italian."

Olivia smiled. She already knew the perfect place.


End file.
